Forest or the Tree...

Dear Jesus - Please send Your Spirit to soften our hearts and open our eyes to the truths You have for us....

When I first started studying the Bible - as opposed to reading it - I was all excited to do a big old study.  Committed.  Going to put all this into practice with my daily Bible reading plan I was doing a the time.  The very next morning upon my return home, I excitedly opened my daily reading plan to see what would be there.  Genesis 38 was there.  I can think of probably less than 5 other chapters in the Bible I find more disgusting.
 Here's the NKJV reading:

 

Genesis 38

New King James Version (NKJV)

 

Judah and Tamar

38 It came to pass at that time that Judah departed from his brothers, and visited a certain Adullamite whose name was Hirah. ² And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua, and he married her and went in to her. ³ So she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er. ⁴ She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan. ⁵ And she conceived yet again and bore a son, and called his name Shelah. He was at Chezib when she bore him.

⁶ Then Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. ⁷ But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord killed him. ⁸ And Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and marry her, and raise up an heir to your brother.” ⁹ But Onan knew that the heir would not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in to his brother’s wife, that he emitted on the ground, lest he should give an heir to his brother. ¹⁰ And the thing which he did displeased the Lord; therefore He killed him also.

¹¹ Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow in your father’s house till my son Shelah is grown.” For he said, “Lest he also die like his brothers.” And Tamar went and dwelt in her father’s house.

¹² Now in the process of time the daughter of Shua, Judah’s wife, died; and Judah was comforted, and went up to his sheepshearers at Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. ¹³ And it was told Tamar, saying, “Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.” ¹⁴ So she took off her widow’s garments, covered herself with a veil and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place which was on the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given to him as a wife. ¹⁵ When Judah saw her, he thought she was a harlot, because she had covered her face. ¹⁶ Then he turned to her by the way, and said, “Please let me come in to you”; for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law.

So she said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?”

¹⁷ And he said, “I will send a young goat from the flock.”

So she said, “Will you give me a pledge till you send it?”

¹⁸ Then he said, “What pledge shall I give you?”

So she said, “Your signet and cord, and your staff that is in your hand.” Then he gave them to her, and went in to her, and she conceived by him. ¹⁹ So she arose and went away, and laid aside her veil and put on the garments of her widowhood.

²⁰ And Judah sent the young goat by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman’s hand, but he did not find her. ²¹ Then he asked the men of that place, saying, “Where is the harlot who was openly by the roadside?”

And they said, “There was no harlot in this place.”

²² So he returned to Judah and said, “I cannot find her. Also, the men of the place said there was no harlot in this place.”

²³ Then Judah said, “Let her take them for herself, lest we be shamed; for I sent this young goat and you have not found her.”

²⁴ And it came to pass, about three months after, that Judah was told, saying, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the harlot; furthermore she is with child by harlotry.”

So Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned!”

²⁵ When she was brought out, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, “By the man to whom these belong, I am with child.” And she said, “Please determine whose these are—the signet and cord, and staff.”

²⁶ So Judah acknowledged them and said, “She has been more righteous than I, because I did not give her to Shelah my son.” And he never knew her again.

²⁷ Now it came to pass, at the time for giving birth, that behold, twins were in her womb. ²⁸ And so it was, when she was giving birth, that the one put out his hand; and the midwife took a scarlet thread and bound it on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” ²⁹ Then it happened, as he drew back his hand, that his brother came out unexpectedly; and she said, “How did you break through? This breach be upon you!” Therefore his name was called Perez. ³⁰ Afterward his brother came out who had the scarlet thread on his hand. And his name was called Zerah.

The End.  Ugggghhhh....  For a couple of months I stewed over this chapter.  There's a lot in it too - but nothing that satisfied.  Didn't meet the 'Taste and See' rule.  Finally - through someone else's study - I got back on track. 

I was staring too hard at the TREE and I missed the FOREST.

You see - Genesis 39 is the chapter about Joseph.  What I missed and now find so beautiful is the complete comparison and contrast between Judah and Joseph - between Chapter 38 and Chapter 39!  Here's just a tiny snippet...

• 2 brothers - SAME father
• Judah willingly goes right down the path to sin / Joseph is sold and forcibly taken to Egypt
• Judah is a willing participant in much sin / Joseph vows not to dishonor God
• Judah was the older brother / Joseph was the younger brother

The details expand this to just a huge comparison and contrast.  Further - I begin to see parallels to New Testament stories...  Good stuff.  Just a reminder to us all - the WORD is too perfect for us to ever completely mine its depths...  :-)

Thank You Jesus that You are the Savior of both Judah and Joseph as well as their children and us...